Retail Downtown
Who else is downtown?
There are over 300 food beverage establishments downtown as well as a plethora of soft goods retailers such as Authenticity, Anthropologie, REI, Krugers Jewelry, Design Within Reach, Keepers, Motive 807, Anthony Nak, Estilo, and many others.
Directory - Click on the downtown directory to find the complete list of retailers, by district, downtown.
Incentives - The City of Austin created the Business Retention and Enhancement (BRE) Program to support re-establishing Congress Avenue and E. 6th Street as retail and urban entertainment district destinations. The low-interest loan program is designed to assist existing downtown businesses located within the eligible area that are being displaced because of development, and to attract new businesses to the eligible area.
Parking - There are over 22,000 parking spaces in downtown Austin. On Congress Avenue there are over 7,800 spaces within a 3 block radius, and on E. 6th Street there are over 5,000 spaces within a 3 block radius.
Tenant Maps - The City of Austin creates and maintains maps that show current first floor retailers by district. Click here to download maps of Congress Avenue, the Warehouse District, and the E. 6th Street and Red River Entertainment Districts, the Uptown/Arts District, and others.
Retail Testimonials - Take a look at what other retailers are saying about being located Downtown.
Entertainment Retail - Alamo Drafthouse
Gifts & Accessories - Authenticity and Mercury
Apparel - Keepers Exceptional Men's Apparel
Retail Announcements
Congress Avenue
Quattro Gatti, 912 Congress Avenue, specializes in quality Italian cuisine for lunch and dinner, as well as an impressive and extensive wine list.
Austin Details Gallery, 801 Congress Avenue, acts as home for renowned Austin painter and photographer Jann Alexander's pieces, housed in her own gallery and available for purchase.
Evie Evan, 504 Congress Avenue, offers beauty, makeup, and skin-care products made from the highest quality ingredients, formulations, and active agents manufactured to the highest purity standards.
The Dress Shop, located at 315 Congress Avenue, is first women’s retailer to grace the “Main Street of Texas” in over a decade. Dress Shop’s selection ranges from casual to cocktail and can work within every budget. Finish off your look with a handbag, jewelry, belt or jacket from Dress Shop’s fabulous accessory collection.
Apple Annies, 319 Congress Avenue, serves up quality dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in addition to offering catering service. Newly reopened, their soups, salads, and sandwiches have satisfied downtown Austin since 1982.
El Chilito, 918 Congress Avenue, affords taqueria fans the chance to enjoy savory build-your-own tacos and burritos all within walking distance of offices and other downtown attractions.
Jezebel, 916 Congress Avenue, combines traditional fine dining with a modern perspective, featuring an artful, inventive prix fixe menu and a considerable wine list.
Patagonia, 316 Congress Avenue is Patagonia's only Texas location. Patagonia’s Austin store, the company’s 25th retail location, carries outdoor sports and lifestyle products tailored to Austin’s varied outdoor activities. Items range from layering systems and men’s and women’s surfing apparel to specific products for local sports such as trail running, bouldering, paddling, and hiking/trekking.
Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, 320 Congress Avenue, a menswear retailer with a heritage of quality and workmanship, an extensive selection of beautifully made, classically styled tailored and casual clothing reasonable prices.
Scott + Cooner, 115 W. 8th Street, is the brainchild of Lloyd Scott and Josy Cooner. Their first design showroom opened in 1995 in Dallas with an intuitive devotion to function, line, color and balance. They combine the furniture showroom with the value add of design professionals to ensure form and function.
Heritage Boot of Austin has set new standards of style and quality with its fully-handmade retro-modern fancy Cowboy Boots. After catching the eyes and imagination of boot wearers, buffs and collectors Heritage has now planted its Lone Star flag of Boot making Independence in downtown Austin, just a stone's throw from the Texas Capitol, at 117 West Eighth Street between Congress and Colorado Avenues.
Enchante, a family-owned and operated company with more than 20 years' experience offering the finest wet shaving goods and men's and women's fragrances and skin care products opened Spring 2007 in the One America Center, 600 Congress Avenue, Suite G210.
Authenticity, a contemporary art and fine craft store filled with original, one of a kind art is located at 910 Congress Avenue. The store opened December 2, 2006 and owner Mary Ober was committed to downtown when searching for a location, "I wouldn't be anywhere else in Austin and Congress Avenue is where it is at!"
Keepers Exceptional Men's Apparel recently opened on the southeast corner of Sixth Street and Congress Avenue. Mike Reynolds, one of the partners of Keepers, is excited about coming back to downtown. "We are pleased to be located at the most important intersection in Austin and the State. My father started the Reynolds Penland on Congress 56 years ago, and I am thrilled to be bringing Keepers Exceptional Men's Apparel store back Downtown.”
Cork and Company located at 308 Congress Avenue is a creative, hip and fashionable retail wine shop is place to taste, learn about, and buy some of the finest wines available.
Motive 807 located 710 Brazos is an independent retailer specializes in hip, trendy foot ware, featuring such brands as Nike, Diesel and others.
E. Sixth Street
El Sol y La Luna at 600 E. Sixth Street, the originator of “Sol Food,” is Austin’s laid-back home for Interior Mexican cuisine as well as live music, dancing and international folk art.
Sole Fresco, 516 E. Sixth Street, is Austin’s newest street wear boutique, ambitiously seeking to set the standard for street wear in the city.
Mi Casa Tamales at 503 E. Sixth Street offers a variety of authentic Texas tamales and a fully stocked bar in a unique hacienda environment.
Aces Lounge, 222 E. Sixth Street, boasts itself as "the official live music venue of college," hosting shows by both local and nationally renowned performers.
Parkside Restaurant, named by Rare Austin as "one of the city's coziest spots for upscale dining," offers an unpretentious but bold take on New American Cuisine at 303 E. Sixth Street.
The Paradise Cafe gets new ownership. On the bar's 27th anniversary the Paradise Cafe was taken over by will by former employee Bill Hogan and business partner Leo LePage . Paradise Café 's time-tested strategy of serving up burgers, pastas and sandwiches to lunchtime executives and midnight snackers, along with pouring drinks for a slightly rowdier late-night crowd, had always worked in the past and with a few changes, the venue's character and unique Sixth Street ambiance has been enhanced.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Austin’s favorite place to catch dinner and a movie, opened in the fall of 2007, after they extensively renovated the 1929 former Ritz Theater at 320 E. Sixth Street. “This theater will prove to be the best Alamo Drafthouse yet,” co-founder Karrie League said. “While retaining the intimacy and programming of the original location, the Ritz has two screens, plush VIP seating, state-of-the-art projection and sound and the new experience of a remodeled and renovated landmark Austin movie palace.”
Vertigo, originally from Houston, moved to Austin in 1983 and located on E. 6th Street for 19 years. The store then moved to Guadalupe and in December of 2004, Vertigo moved back to 115 E. Sixth Street. Voted "Best Hat Selection" by the Austin Chronicle's Critic Poll in 2002, the owners are excited about being back home on E. Sixth Street.
Wild About Music relocated from Congress Avenue to the 115 E. Sixth Street the Fall of 2004. "E. Sixth Street is a perfect match for our eclectic music retail business. With the relocation of the Visitor Center to E. Sixth Street, our daytime business has increased tremendously. We are thrilled to be a part of the live music scene downtown," stated owner Fred Schmidt.
2nd Street Retail District
Ligne Roset Boutique, one of the world's leaders in contemporary furniture design, has opened its first concept boutique in Austin at 201 W. 2nd Street.
Bang & Olufsen, located at 217 W. 2nd Street, features a broad collection of exclusive audio systems, televisions, loudspeakers, telephones and digital media products.
Delish, 209 W. 3rd Street, serves up gourmet cupcakes and other tantalizing desserts made from scratch.
Design Within Reach, located at 200 W. 2nd Street, a modern retail design studio with the coolest items for your home.
Estilo is Austin's newest concept for contemporary casual to cocktail wear for men and women. Representing pieces from across the world, Estilo brings fashion and art together and is located at 234 Colorado Street.
The Home Retreat is a contemporary home linens and furnishings store located at 249 West 2nd Street.
Eliza Page, now open at 229 West 2nd Street, showcases over 20 different independent jewelry and accessory designers, featuring Austin's most innovative artists.
IF Design, open at 208 Colorado Street, is a modern home furnishings store.
Mercury Design Studio, located at 209 West 2nd Street, has hip, contemporary home furnishings and accessories.
St. Bernard Sports, 401 W. 3rd Street, is one of the Southwest's premier ski/snow board specialty shops.
Wee, 417 1/2 West 2nd Street carries contemporary furnishings, bedding, decor and apparel for the modern baby.
Finch, 417 W. 2nd Street, offers a lovely collection of unique gifts and hand-crafted furnishings for the home.
Peyton's Place, located at 215 Lavaca, the boutique features women's apparel, accessories and more.
Girl Next Door at 233 W. 2nd Street specializes in Women's designer jeans and other wardrobe stables like tops, jewelry, dresses and a host of other cool, hip fashion.
milk + honey spa /retreat/ shop, opened at 204 Colorado Street and provides over 50 Spa Partisans with exceptional treatments. milk + honey's day spa offers massage and body treatments, face and skin treatments, waxing and natural manicures and pedicures.
Lofty Dog, located at 403 W. 2nd Street, specializes in unique and modern pet supplies, and the store is committed to finding local artisans who provide one-of-a-kind pet related products.
Royal Blue Grocery, located at 3rd Street and Lavaca, is a convenience store carrying frequently used products such as fruits and vegetables, toiletries, wine and spirits and other necessities.
Cathy's Cleaners at 231 W. 3rd Street offers quality dry cleaning and alteration services.
Taverna Italian Restaurant recently opened at 258 W. 2nd Street. Taverna is a wonderful, fine Italian neighborhood restaurant with outdoor seating.
Which Wich? a superior sandwich store opened at 259 W. 3rd Street.
Cantina Laredo is now open at 201 W. 3rd Street serving superior authentic Mexican dishes in a sophisticated atmosphere.
Jo's Hot Coffee located at 242 W. 2nd Street, this locally owned cool hot spot provides home baked goods, sandwiches and a variety of coffee drinks both hot and cold.
Crú - A Wine Bar has opened its newest location at 235 W. 2nd Street. Cru' offers by-the-bottle wine list and a wide-range of ever-changing list of wines available in tasting flights or by-the-glass. Cru' also offers a dinner menu and a plush comfortable atmosphere.
III Forks restaurant opened at 210 Cesar Chavez. This fine dining steak restaurant is also located in Dallas and Palm Beach Gardens.
Lamberts barbeque restaurant is located in the historic Schneider building at 401 2nd Street. The menu offers an array of modern interpretations of Texas cuisine.
Leaf a locally owned healthy eating establishment that prides itself in the best salads in the world. Fresh ingredients, homemade dressings and more. Located at 419 W. 2nd Street.
Austin Java, located at City Hall, 301 W. 2nd Street, Austin Java is a locally owned coffee shop serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. With hip events and activities, something is always going on at Austin Java.
Mama Fu's, 100 Colorado, is a restaurant focusing on Pan-Asian cuisine with influences from China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
Beyond Tradition, 221 W. 2nd Street, specializes in unique designer jewelry as eclectic as Austin.
MISSBEHAVE, 237 W. 2nd Street, is the 2nd Street District's newest women's boutique, offering a variety of designer brands.
tart. frozen yogurt, 241 W. 2nd Street, is an Austin-based self-serve frozen yogurt shop. High on variety, tart. carries over 20 flavors and 30 toppings.
Fit City Sports, 301 W. 2nd Street, brings lifestyle fitness apparel and running shoes to the district.
studio563 at 202 Colorado Street, a collection of talented photographers, is available for all your wedding and engagement photography.
Malaga, open for weekend brunch and every day for dinner at 440 W. 2nd Street, is the district's home for authentic Spanish-style tapas.
gallery d, 436 W. 2nd Street, is an innovative women’s boutique carrying dresses, tops, shoes, denim, T-shirts, swimwear and accessories from international lines not sold anywhere else in Austin.
BoConcept, 430 W. 2nd Street, is the ultimate destination for modern and contemporary furniture in Austin.
Plain Ivey Jane, 408 W. 2nd Street, is a concept boutique featuring closeout couture—high-end designer apparel at a discount.
La Condesa, 400-A W. 2nd Street, serves contemporary Mexican cuisine with traditional regional influences inspired by the hip, bohemian Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City.
Malverde, 400-B W. 2nd Street, offers a fun, sophisticated nightlife experience and a host of inventive cocktails, all soundtracked by some of Austin's most talented DJs.
teuscher, 409 W. 2nd Street, brings a taste of Switzerland to Austin with its fine chocolates, and also serves up delicious drip coffee and espresso beverages.
Froots, 415 W. 2nd Street, specializes in smoothies made from only all-natural ingredients and also offers a full menu of healthy gourmet wraps, salads and soups.
Market District
The new 85,000 square foot Whole Foods Store and International Headquarters opened in March 2005. In addition to this exciting addition to downtown, REI and Antropologie will be opening up in the space Whole Foods is vacating at 6th & Lamar. For more information on Schlosser Development Corporation and leasing, contact David Vitanza at (512) 472-7774, or dvitanza@sdcaustin.com.
Available Space
The DAA maintains a vacancy list of smaller spaces that are suitable for retail and office use.